Mucking machine for use in shaft sinking



March 19, 1957 F. ToFFLEMxRE 2,785,813

MUCKING MACHINE FOR USE IN SHAFT SINKING Filed Nov. 9, 1955 INVENT OR BY 9L ATTORNEYS United States Patent:v C

MUCKING MACHINE FOR USE IN SHAFT SINKIN G Francis Tofdemire, Thermopolis, Wyo.

Application November 9, 1955, Serial No. 545,911

2 Claims. (Cl. 214-141) This invention relates to mucking machines for mine shafts.

An object of the invention is the provision of an 1mproved mucking machine particularly adapted to operate in the restricted space of a vertical or nearly vertical mining shaft or similar type excavation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mucking machine which combines an extensible shovel or scoop supporting boom with improved means for controlling or operating the shovel for mamum mucking efficiency. Y

lAnother object of the invention is the provision of a Vmucking machine for use in mines of the type having a relatively narrow shaft and a space of greater area than said shaft at the bottom thereof, the machine being adapted to readily muck material from all points at the bottom yet being easily collapsed to permit quick withdrawal of the machine frornthe shaft during periods of blasting, or for other reasons.

Other objects and their attendantV advantages will becomeapparent as the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

i"ig.v l is a vertical section showing the apparatus of the invention applied vto mucking operations at the bottom of amine shaft` the dotted lines indicating certain alternative positions of the apparatus, and

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus of Fig. l.

Referring Vnow to Fig. l Ithere is shown at l0. a substantially verticalV mine shaft which is illustrated as hav-- ing afrelatively narrow upper part l2 and `an enlarged excavated lower part 14 from which broken rock or ore is to be removed. Y

The mucking machine of the invention comprises a cage or cab 16 mounted for transverse movement on traversing rails 1S secured in any known manner to one wall vof the mine shaft.l The rails 13,A for example, may bel-shaped beams whosecha'nne'led'upper surfacesare engaged by suitable L or T-shaped members 26 iixed to the one vertical wall or" the cage 16. The cage is moved transversely by any suitable means as by hydraulically operated thrust rods indicated generally by the number 22.

The cage i6 is of frame construction having at Ithe top an eye 24 engageable by hoisting means (not shown) by which the cage and associated mechanism is raised or lowered in the shaft. The cage 16 includes an operators seat 26 next to which are controls 28 and beneath which may be located a power unit 30 which includes a hydraulic pump unit 31. Secured to the front of the cage is the mucking boom 32 and associated mechanisms, described more particularly hereinafter, and secured to the end of the boom is the mucking shovel 34.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the boom 32 may for purposes of strength be constructed of two identical side-by-side members which are pivotally connected at their inner ends to brackets 36 secured to the lower end of a vertical member 38 which is pivotally supported at 39, 4i) to the front of the cage frame 16 for horizontal swinging movement. The vertical member 38 has pivotally 2,785,813 Patented Mar. 419,!1957 ice 2 secured to its upper end at 42 one end of a pair of hydraulic power cylinders 44 each containing a double acting piston 46 having a piston rod 48 pivotally Yattached at 49 to an intermediate portion of each of boom member 32. When uid pressure is admitted to the lower ends ofthe power cylinders 44 the pistons 46 are moved upwardly to raise the boom members 32 and when pressure is admitted to the upper ends of the power'cylinder the boom members are lowered. n

In accordance with the invention the boom members 32 are extensible in order that 'the shovel 34 may be thrust into remote corners of the mine'shaft. Thisextensibility is accomplished by constructing the boom 32 telescopically with outer portions 5l) serving -as power cylinders for inner portions '51havingpistons52 integral with their inner ends which serve to extend or vretract the boom as iiuid pressure is admitted to one end or the other of the cylinder portions '56. v

The outer ends of the inner boom members 51 are oitset as at 53 and at -their outer ends pivotally support the upper end of a pair of opposed shackle members 54 by means of a suitable boltor the like 55 which extends through registering holes in the shackle ends and in each of the odset portions 53 of the boom so that the pair of booms thus joined act essentially as aunitary member.

As illustrated in Fig. 2 the'lower ends of shackle members 54 pivot-ally support the .shovel .34 whichismoved with respect to the shackle between `opened and .closed positions by hydraulic power actuators, the .cylinders`56 of which are pivotally connected'tofthe upper ends Yof the? shackles '54 and the pistons 57 of,which are connected to.

the shovel through the medium otoset'piston rodsfi As the pistons 57 are moved inwardly or outwardly the shovel is tilted with respect to the boom-end to the variousV f dotted line positions shown in Fig.,1. 3. y; A

in order that the shovel canbe extended if.necesSary-` beyond the normal reach of the fully extendedboom ,the invention provides a novel means for automatically. swing--` ing the shackles 54 outwardly and -this means comprises; a flexible member 59 whose inner'end is attached to the' youter or cylinder portion 5G of the boomjfvhile its :innerend is attached to a leverY Y6d which, may be xed .t04 the shackle normal to the axistlrereofy by being welded `toa suitable cross brace'l, shown' in Fig. 2; joiningV the tion substantially parallel tothe boom 32 as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1,.- With the shackle' 111115 extended..

the reach of the shovel is lengthened by the length of the shackle and the shovel may, as before, be rotated with respect to the shackle by the shovel power actuators.

The bucket is moved across the oor of the mine to collect material therein by means of an overhaul cable 62 having one end iixed to the cab 16. The cable passes around a sheave 63 fixed to the bucket 34 thence around a second sheave 64 fixed to the cab which guides the cable to a winding and unwinding drum 66 rotatably mounted on the lower portion of the cab framework. The drum is rotated in a conventional manner by means of belts and gearing 67 driven by the power unit 36 and its movement and direction of rotation is determined by the positioning or" conventional clutches controlled by the operator from the control station 28.

As is customary in the mucking of mine shafts, loosened material on the mine floor is deposit-ed in a sinking bucket for lifting to the surface. in order that the sinking bucket may be tilled in its position of rest on the mine oor it is necessary that the mucking shovel boom be movable horizontally and this is accomplished in the present invention by a power cylinder 68 pivotally fixed at its inner and .t9 the eab and .containing a piston 69 whose rod 70 is pivoted to the outer end of a transverse projection 71 ixed to the hinged vertical member 38 carrying the boom 32. A s ,the piston is extended .or retracted the vhinged member and the boom will be swung transversely in accordance with the direction of movement .of the piston.

YIn operation, the ,rails 1 8 are positioned and secured in the shaft 12 and the cab 16 is mounted thereon. The power unit 30 is energized to operate the hydraulic pump unit 31 to build hydraulic pressure in the system. The

y operator manipulates the controls at 28 to lift the boom 32 by the lifting cylinders ,and pistons 44, 46. Ft/nen the shovel 34 is raised Iclear of the mine door the opera` tor then swings the boom transversely by the admission of fluid pressure to the proper side vof rotating cylinder 6 8. When Vthe Ashovel has been swung over the particular portion of the mine iloor which is to bemucked the cp- Verator extends the boom as necessary by the admission of lluid to the upper side ofthe boom'extension pist-on into the debris to be collected. The clutch of thcrwinding drum .66 is then engaged to wind in theV overhaul cable 62 and draw the shovel towards the wall of the shaft until the shovel is loaded. The drum Yclutch is then released and the shovel pivoted upwardly by the admission of uid pressure to the lower side of the shovel ment of the mucking equipment through the very limited space available in a conventional mining shaft. VThe equipment is raised suiciently far in the shaft to a point above danger of blast damage where it may be held until the completion of blasting operations before being again lowered to the rails 18.

From the foregoing description it will Ybe apparent that the mucking equipment of the present invention is highly versatile and is particularly well adapted forruse in mines having shafts of limited cross sectional area. In addition, the ease of mounting the mucker or withdrawing it from the shaft renders the mucker particularly valuable since it eliminates -to a large degree the nonproductive efforts required heretofore to mount or remove power muckers from mine shafts.

It will of course be apparent that the mucker ofthe invention is susceptible of many modifications and .s changes without having departed from the scope of the arms, a shovel pivoted between said arms, and double acting fluid pressure means interposed between said shackle and said shovel for controllably rotating said shovel about its pivots.

2. In a mucking machine having Va. telescoping boom,

means for extending or retracting said boom, means Yfor control pistons 57. The boom V32 is raised and swung horizontally until the shovel is over the sinking bucket whereupon the shovel is pivoted downwardly discharging Y This process isY repeated until the sinking bucket is loaded and by alter- Vf' its .contents into the sinking bucket.

nating thersuccessive position of the sinking bucket with transverse movements of the mucker from side to side ofthe shaft on the rails 18 all of the loose debris can be .cleared from the shaft bottom. For debris in remote corners of an excavated portion of the mine the reach of theV shovel is extended as necessary by merely extending the boom until the flexible member 59 acts on the lever 60 to rotate the shackle upwardly about its pivot as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. l.V

At the completion ofthe clearing operation in the shaft hoisting equipment is attached to the hoist cage eye 24 and the 'cab 16 is raised clear of the rails 18. As the cab vrises the lift pistons 46 are extended so that the swinging said boom in a vertical plane and means for swinging said boom in a horizontal plane, an offset portion integral with the end of said boom, a shackle piv-V oted to said olfset portion and having two spaced arms, a sho'velepivoted between said arms, and means for rotating said shackle with respect to said boom to extend the reach thereof, said means comprising a lever xed to said shackle and projecting outwardly normal to the.

References Cited in the tile of this patent Y UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,379 Harding V .lune 3, ,1947 2,492,217 Grismer Dec. 27, V194,9 2,718,312

lilch g. Sept. 20, 1955v 

